Reverend
Franklin Graham, son of world renowned evangelist Billy Graham, said
the Muslim prayer service on Friday at the Washington National
Cathedral, an Episcopal church established under a charter
granted by Congress more than 100 years ago, is “sad to see” because
the church should only open its door for worship of “the One True God
of the Bible.”
In a Facebook post on Thursday, Nov. 13, Rev. Franklin Graham, who heads the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association,
said, “Tomorrow, the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C. -- one of
the most prominent Episcopal churches in America -- will host a Muslim
prayer service to Allah.”

Facebook post by Rev. Franklin Graham, Nov. 13, 2014.

“It’s sad to see a church open its doors to the worship of anything
other than the One True God of the Bible who sent His Son, the Lord
Jesus Christ, to earth to save us from our sins,” said Graham. “Jesus
was clear when He said, ‘I am the way the truth and the life. No one
comes to the Father except through Me’ (John 14:6).”

Muslim prayer carpets will be laid out inside the cathedral facing
east, towards Mecca, for the prayer service. They will also be “to the
side of the sanctuary,” reported
Voice of America, so that worshippers will not see the crosses or
Christian icons, because “Muslims are not supposed to pray in view of
sacred symbols alien to their faith.”

According to Pew Research, Muslims represent about 0.6% of the U.S. adult population.

Muslim Leader at National Cathedral: ‘We Condemn Persecution of Christians’

(CNSNews.com) – From the speaker’s podium at the
National Cathedral, an Episcopal church, and in an interview with
CNSNews.com, a Muslim leader said that American Muslims are opposed to
the persecution of Christians and other religious minorities in the
Middle East.

Muslims
pray at a Friday prayer service on Nov. 14, 2014 at the Washington
National Cathedral in Washington, D.C. (CNSNews.com/Penny Starr)

“We condemn persecution of Christians – of any minorities in
Muslim-majority countries,” Rizwan Jaka, chairman of the board of the
All Dulles Area Muslim Society, told CNSNews.com at the Washington
Natural Cathedral in Washington, D.C. on Friday where a Muslim prayer
service was held.
When asked about the significance of the Muslim prayer service being
held in a Christian church – an event that drew harsh criticism from
some Christians and attracted one woman who tried to disrupt the service
by shouting that Jesus Christ is the risen savior – Jaka said it
reflects the country’s values.

“The significance is that America is a beacon of religious freedom
and harmony, and that the Christian community embraces the Muslim
community and that’s the message to the world,” Jaka said. “Look at the
beautiful pluralism and democracy and harmony that we have in the United
States of America.”
“And we ask that the world take that as an example that minorities in
Muslim-minority countries should be treated with respect, treated with
religious freedom, and that they should have the right to worship and
the right to have equal rights and that we have to protect the churches
and temples and synagogues in Muslim majority countries,” Jaka said.

When asked whether it was true that Christians are being persecuted
in the Middle East, Jaka repeated his condemnation of the practice.

“We condemn persecution of Christians, of any minorities in
Muslim-majority countries,” Jaka said. “We have actually had many
initiatives – like I said the fundraising we do to rebuild churches is
an example of that.”

Two
Muslim women use their cell phones to record the Muslim Friday Prayer
service at the Washington National Cathedral in Washington, D.C. on Nov.
14, 2014. (CNSNews.com/Penny Starr)

CNSNews.com also asked the Rev. Canon Gina Gilland Campbell, who is a
United Methodist clergy who oversees worship at the
Episcopalian-founded church, why the decision was made to have a Muslim
service in the cathedral.

“Today is just another example of what we try to do here every day,
which is to live into our identity as a house of prayer for all people,”
Campbell said. “And so we welcome people from many different traditions
every single day of the week, and this is just a specific day for a
specific community to come and pray with, and we are just delighted that
the Muslim community is here today.”
The prayer service was held in an alcove of the church without any
Christian symbols visible and large prayer rugs facing east were
installed for the men and women who attended.
Haris Tarin, director of the Washington office of the Muslim Public
Affairs Council, told CNSNews.com that prayer was the focus of the
event.

“The purpose of this event is to show people that there is nothing
more Christian, there’s nothing more Muslim and there’s nothing more
American than praying together,” Tarin said. “That is what our Founding
Fathers envisioned; that is what we as faith communities around this
country do on a daily basis.”
“So why not bring it to the national level to the National Cathedral,
which is a symbol of faithfulness in America in our nation’s capital,”
said Tarin.

At the event, Jaka distributed a document to reporters with links to news stories about how mosques around the country have hosted Christian services, including one about a mosque in Sacramento, Calif., that allowed a church to hold its Easter service there.